Calvary Baptist Church First Quarter Newsletter, 2023

Introduction

In the midst of all the crises in the world today (political upheaval, wars, earthquakes, droughts, hunger, the deaths of loved ones, etc.), I am constantly reminded of the words of Jesus: ‘I will build my church…’  ‘Lo I am with you always’; ‘I will come again.’ Every time I read those words, I take solace in the fact that the church belongs to Christ; we are only co-laborers in His vineyard, and that he is in control. As we end the first quarter in the year 2023, we are certainly grateful to the LORD ALMIGHTY for His manifold blessings upon my family and the ministries He has called us to here in Liberia.

During the first quarter, we remained faithful to preaching and teaching the Word, and reaching out to the communities. We ended the business meeting in March, and embarked on the execution of plans and activities for 2023. We thank the IGM and all our supporters for their prayers, moral and financial supports to my family and the ministries here at Calvary Baptist Church. This report is a summary of all that were able to achieve in the last three months.

My Family

We are grateful to the Lord for His blessings upon our family during these difficult times. All of our orphans are doing well and in school. Some of the children have not been well, but are feeling much better now. Gifty suffers from ulcers, and Dax Johnson suffers from sickle cell, and  always has to be taken to the hospital by his mom. Please pray for them. For two months, Rose, my wife, was down with typhoid and malaria, but thank the Lord, she is recovering. Our elder son, Mac, is still in Kigali, Rwanda for study.  We thank all our supporters for their supports to our family and the orphans. Last year May, we dug a well in our yard, which is providing water for the house. We are connected to the city water system, but the water does not come for weeks. Phase two of our water project is to build a water tower, get a 500 gallon tank, a water pump, and connect the well to the house. This will cost USD $1,450, 00.

 Church News

The 60th session of the Annual Business Meeting ended in March with, commitments to preaching the Word, reaching Liberia with the gospel, completing some of the building projects, and strengthening our Christian Day school programs. Many trusted Christ as Lord and Savior during the first quarter. Before the end of the quarter, there were 10 candidates in the baptismal class. Church attendance average for the quarter is as followed:

  1. Sunday School-76
  2. Children Church- 78
  3. Worship Service- 295
  4. Wednesday Prayer Meeting- 43
  5. Visitors- 67

Fellowships (New Churches)

The fellowships under Calvary Baptist Church ministry remained functional during the first quarter.

Meanwhile, the Central Baptist and Believers Baptist Fellowships are erecting new church buildings. The Central Baptist fellowship has completed the ground floor of its new church, and is raising the walls.

Calvary supports 13 pastors (local missionaries/evangelists) around the country. The church mission’s budget is LD$829,700 (USD$5,185). This is 21% of our Liberian dollars budget for the year. This amount is paid to these men monthly as stipend. Due to the drop in tithes and offering, the church may not be able to fully support these men. We need help to keep these men on our support list.

Church Edifice Construction

During the first quarter, the tilling and the ceiling of the downstairs edifice were completed. Installation of lights and painting will be done during the second quarter.

Family Day

In continuation of the church’s 60th anniversary, a Family Day was held at the ELWA beach in January bringing families of the church together for fun and fellowship. During the program, families shared their testimonies concerning how good the Lord has been to them over the years.

GOGF Conference

From March 15-21, Calvary Baptist Church, in collaboration with the Association of Independent Baptist Pastors Fellowship, and the Grand Old Gospel Fellowship Ministries (GOGF) hosted series of activities.

 Church Leaders Training Conference

A training conference was held for pastors and church leaders from March 15- 18, 2023.  The total attendance was 150 participants. There were 75 churches present with their leaders including pastors, deacons, Sunday school teachers, youth leaders and others in attendance.

Topics covered included:

  1. Leadership
  2. Mission and Vision

3 Challenges of Pastoral Ministry

  1. Marriage (Ten Commandment of Marriage)

5 Questions and Answers

 

The conference ended on Saturday, March 18, with the presentation of certificates for participants. In his remarks, Dr. Tony Hart, the speaker for the conference, thanked the participants for attending the conference and challenged them to use materials learned to strengthen themselves and their ministries.

 On Sunday, March 19th, Dr. Hart was guest preacher at the Calvary Baptist Church during its morning worship service. In his opening remarks, Dr. Hart said he was happy to always come to Africa, and has developed a special bond with Liberia. His sermon theme was, All Things are Not Helpful, with text taken from 1 Corinthians 6:12-20.

 On Monday and Tuesday, March 20th and 21st, Dr. Hart taught at the Jake Memorial Baptist College. Topics taught were Basic Bible study and sermon preparation. At the end of the teaching, Rev. Dr. G. Larque Vaye, executive vice president of the College, thanked Dr. Hart and appealed to him to make another visit to Liberia purposely to lecture at the College for a module.

Revival Services

Three revival services were held to climax Dr. Hart’s visit to Liberia.

The first revival service was held at the Rehoboth Baptist Church on Sunday, March 10, at 5:00 PM, with 65 persons in attendance. Following the preaching, 45 persons dedicated their lives to the Lord. On Monday, March 20th, Dr. Hart preached at the Repentance Fellowship Baptist Church at 5:00 PM. Many commitments were made to the Lord.

On the evening of Tuesday, March 21st, Dr. Hart preached at the Open Door Baptist Church in Brewerville, outside of Monrovia. Many trusted Christ as Savior while others rededicated their lives to the Lord.

Todee School

Since this academic year, the Todee School resumed classes, with close to 100 students. The school is still being operated on a tuition free basis, with the school board fully supporting the school (salaries, etc.). These are the challenges facing the school: the plastering and the floor have not been done; the kids do not have chairs and benches; there is no latrine for the students, and water to drink. We will need 50 benches for now, which will cost USD$2,000 ($40 per bench). The hand pump will cost USD$1,550 (including excavation, coverts, and pump). The latrine will cost USD$2,500.

Obituary

During the quarter, three of our members went home to be with the Lord. In January, Pastor Daniel Gedeh, one of the pastors/evangelists we supported died, following years of sickness. Brother Emmanuel Kehkeh from the men’s department, died on February 3. On March 16, 2023, Rev. William M. Kolaglay, chairman of the board of directors of the Jake Memorial Baptist College went home to be with the Lord. Please pray for their families.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for the following requests:

  1. For this year’s Liberia general election
  2. For the spiritual growth of the church
  3. For the many projects and needs of the ministries. We will appreciate your prayer and support for any of the below requests:
  4. Our water project- $1,450
  5. Support for any of our local missionaries in the interior ($50-75 per month)

Todee School: benches- $2,000 ($40 per bench); well/hand pump- $1,550; latrine $2,500.

 

 

Submitted by: Rev. Dr. G. Larque Vaye and Mother Roseline W. Vaye

Calvary Baptist Church and IGM Missionaries, Liberia